A 2-(aryloxymethyl)benzaldehyde compound such as 2-(2,5-dimethylphenoxymethyl)benzaldehyde has been known to be useful, for example, as an intermediate for producing agricultural germicides (for example, see JP 9-95462 A).
As a process for producing 2-(aryloxymethyl)benzaldehyde, for example, the following method is described in JP 2009-215286 A (Example 5). In the method, 2-(2,5-dimethylphenoxymethyl)benzaldehyde is obtained by reacting 2-(2,5-dimethylphenoxymethyl)benzal chloride and sodium methoxide, and then a resulting acetal compound is extracted with xylene. Then, an organic layer obtained after liquid separation is mixed with an aqueous sulfuric acid solution to hydrolyze the acetal compound to obtain 2-(2,5-dimethylphenoxymethyl)benzaldehyde.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new process capable of producing a 2-(aryloxymethyl)benzaldehyde compound.